Secretary General, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Mr. Anthony Sani has said that the North can’t remain in power beyond 2023 without the support of the South. In this interview with our Correspondent, NOAH EBIJE, in Kaduna, the ACF scribe who was apparently reacting to a recent statement by the leader of Northern Elders Forum, NEF, Professor Ango Abdullahi that the North can retain power for 100 years, said every region needs one another to survive politically as none is an island. Sani also spoke on other national issues, even as he faulted frequent foreign trips by President Muhammadu Buhari, saying that the nation’s hospitals should be upgraded to discourage medical trips outside the country.
ACF’s 20th anniversary celebration is around the corner. Do you think it is worth celebrating, considering the fact that north is no longer one, both politically and socially?
When you ask whether it is worth celebrating the existence of ACF for 20 years, I find it hard to understand what has informed such a question. This is because as an organization, ACF should assess its progress against its 10-year plan made in 2010 and in 20 years next year for the express purpose of identifying where progress was made and areas where mistakes were made in order to correct any mistakes for improved performance.
I have noticed many of the media outfits tend to be negative and pessimistic even about celebrations of the nation’s independence on grounds that it is not worth celebrating simply because there are challenges begging for attention. Such people are ignorant of the fact that the good things of life are never natural order of things but are attained through hard work by not only the leaders but also by the denizens. This is not only in countries but also in organizations.
As to your assertion that the North is no more one, I wonder the basis of such conclusion. This is because the so-called Middle Belt which agitates that it is not part of the North is rooted in what no longer exists. (Joseph) Tarka had wanted a Middle Belt Region reminiscent of Midwestern Region but since states and local governments have been created to allay the fear of marginalization of minority by majority, it stands to reason to submit that there is no more basis for the agitations. That may explain why Governor Lalong is the Chairman of Northern States Governors Forum.
And if they regard the Middle Belt forum as a platform for northern Christians who are minorities, it is important to note that there have been only three states in the North, namely, Benue, Plateau and Taraba states that have been producing Christian governors in the North out of 19 states. That gives relative electoral values of Christians in the North. I would suggest the minorities should not promote politics of identity lest they make the majority come together and marginalize them perpetually. Rather, they should hanker for recognition of positive content of character that can attract their relevance to the polity the way Obama did and became president in predominantly white country.
What can you point to as the achievements and challenges of the ACF since its formation in the year 2000?
The BoT Chairman listed the achievements of ACF to include conciliatory interventions among warring communities, defence of the North during Oputa Panel and consultations in order to build bridges and break barriers among communities of the North for promotion of peaceful coexistence that comes with the desired relative pluralism. Just as process of nation building is work in progress, so is ACF a continuous process.
Chairman of Board of Trustees of ACF, Adamu Fika said the other day that the Forum was formed to douse tension created by the Major Gideon Orka-led coup of 1990. But other northern elders said it was formed to counter Ohanaeze and Afenifere of Igbo and Yoruba extraction respectively. Where do you stand?
I expect you to understand the import of what the Chairman of BoT said that Orkar coup contributed in bringing about the need to establish ACF, to wit, make the most of our God-given diversity by working hard to overcome what divides our people.
Can the North hold unto power for 100 years as recently claimed by Professor Ango Abdullahi?
The constitution is very clear on how to become president, to wit, that the person must win not only majority votes but also at least 25% of the votes in at least two thirds of the 36 states and FCT. That means no regional votes alone can make a region produce a president. This is because two thirds of the 36 states is 24 states while the North is only 19 states. Unless a part of the South supports the candidate from the North, there is no way the candidate can emerge the president with northern votes alone. The same with the South, which cannot win the elections to produce president without the support from the North. And I think the provisions were deliberately made to force the need for Nigerians across regions, ethnicity and religion to interact across regional and zonal boundaries and the need for each other.
Some politicians are already scheming to return President Buhari for the third term in office. Are you not sad to hear this, knowing fully well that it is against the Constitution?
Should the media take such politicians serious against the spirit and letter of the Constitution to the extent of promoting the scheming? It is a pity that our media are not setting the national agenda but instead pandering to politicians who promote acts that are not provided for in the constitution.
There is no doubt that some members of the ACF were aggrieved over the adoption of President Buhari by the forum against Atiku Abubakar during the 2019 presidential election. What are you doing to reconcile with them?
Because ACF comprises members from different political parties, outright endorsement of a candidate of a political party by the leadership of ACF would not be acceptable to all members of the Forum. And since those aggrieved have not gone public with their grievances, we take it that they were in the minority. More so that the victory of President Buhari has tended to vindicate the prescient wisdom of those who canvassed for the endorsement.
Nigerians are groaning over economic hardship in the land, yet politicians are already scheming for 2023 general elections without addressing the hardship. How would you describe this?
Why do you keep on saying Nigerians are groaning under poverty as if this government created the poverty and is doing nothing to create an enabling environment for people to strive and fend for themselves? And you do this by feigning ignorance of the recent rating by World Bank that Nigeria is among the first 10 countries whose economies have been improved the most. It is for Nigerians to take advantage of the improved situations and strive to fend for themselves.
But I agree with those who suggest that it is too early for politicians to start politics of 2023 when the sitting government is less than six months. This is undemocratic and morally preposterous, considering what President Abraham Lincoln said on his inauguration that “It is but ordinary charity to attribute the fact that in so attaching himself to the party which his judgement prefers, the citizens believe he thereby promotes the best interest of the whole country; and when an election is passed, it is altogether befitting a free people that, until the next election, they should be as one people”.
I hope our politicians would note the import of this statement by the author of democracy by coming together to become one people and unleash their synergistic potential against our collective challenges for larger interest of common good, until next rounds of campaigns when they shall be expected to go back to the trenches.
A publisher of northern extraction, Musa Ajoge in a recent interview with a national daily said ACF never lived by its name as it does not consult the 19 northern states before taking decisions that affect the entire region. How would you react to this?
ACF is a consultative forum. Towards that end, it has two organs of Board of Trustees comprising people from all the senatorial districts of all northern states, including the FCT. The forum also has National Executive Council (NEC) which members come from all the senatorial zones of all northern states and FCT. NEC has National Working Committee, which is the engine room. Each state has a member in the NWC. So, when people say they are not consulted, I cannot understand.
Some Nigerians have expressed concerns about frequent foreign trips by the president without commensurate benefits compared to the cost. More so that the economy appears weak. What do you have to say about this?
While I agree that foreign trips by the president should attract commensurate benefits to the nation, and the president is not expected to undertake frivolous trips, it is important to note that some benefits of the trips may not be immediate. Some may even be intangible but useful. Some benefits may take longer time. I also share the view that the place of the president in good governance is not necessarily personal involvement in all activities but it is to impel progress by multiplying his strength through the cabinet who are his subalterns. Motivation is his instrument and social skill is the requirement. To expect the president to be in the spots personally where all actions are needed across the country, even at the expense of his health may be unrealistic, if not unfair to the person of Mr. President.
But I share the concern that some medical facilities in the country be upgraded in order to reduce frequent foreign trips for medical attention by not only government fun-ctionaries and Nigerians but also the president himself.